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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · vault · saw · degree · mug · straw · ground · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mug — a face
  3. ground — a position
  4. fork — in a road
  5. ground — crushed
  6. degree — an amount
  7. vault — a safe
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cap — a hat
  11. degree — from a university
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mug — to rob
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cap — of ice
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mug — a cup
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com